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More cannabis use not what the construction sector needs
Stuff co.nz 11 September 2020
Our additional comment: “The 2019 Civil Contractors NZ annual report highlighted legalised cannabis as an issue looming over the construction sector with 65 per cent of respondents saying it would negatively impact their operations as businesses were already struggling with staff recruitment due to substance abuse – in effect removing them pending a clear drug test.
From a health and safety perspective, construction sites are hazardous and dangerous work areas, and require employees to be alert.”
Of course!

OPINION: The upcoming general election and the referenda, including the proposed legalisation of cannabis, pose a concerning dilemma for the construction industry.

The construction industry is one of New Zealand’s largest employers and anecdotally we suspect that many of our 250,000 workers already routinely abuse drugs like alcohol, methamphetamine and, to a lesser degree, cannabis.

Unlike alcohol, cannabis can stay in the human body for several weeks. If employees return a positive drug test in that time they are unable to work and contribute to society.

Medically it is acknowledged that the active psychedelic ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which produces the “high” effect, also impairs and affects people’s judgement because it alters the way information is processed by the brain.

This impairment occurs over the time that THC stays in the fatty tissues of a person’s body and can impair motor performance, cause loss of balance and coordination, decrease attentiveness and alertness, prolong response time to stimuli and danger, and decrease the ability to judge distance and space.

If recreational use of cannabis is allowed in the September referendum, then construction companies will also be required to introduce pre-selection drug testing of employees – many are already doing this – and the issue then also becomes one of finding and hiring enough drug-free workers who can pass the pre-employment screening.

The legalisation of cannabis in the referendum is a simple yes or no question and so most people being asked to make a very critical decision on a powerful drug will be unaware of the potential consequences for the New Zealand workplace, including the construction sector.

Perhaps the question should be asked if cannabis is legalised will the Government pay businesses compensation for employees who are unable to work following a positive drug test or change the employment legislation allowing for faster failed drug test dismissals without any recourse to personal grievance procedures?

There will be both social and economic impacts arising if there is a legalisation of cannabis. But have our legislators fully thought through all of the implications if a larger proportion of the construction workforce is unable to work at a time of economic recovery where keeping jobs and growth in a post-Covid-19 environment will be paramount? Hopefully the voting population are smarter than that.
Gary Walker is chair of the Construction Strategy Group and general manager, Fletcher Construction, buildings.
READ MORE: https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300104507/more-cannabis-use-not-what-the-construction-sector-needs?cid=app-iPhone

TVNZ One News 10 September 2020
Our additional comment: “[I]n terms of accuracy, and particularly around stuff like THC and prescription medications like benzodiazepines – there’s been some real issues and that’s come about recently with some case law as well, in the workplace side of things, in terms of failing to detect people using cannabis recently, while they’re intoxicated, and then while they’re impaired as well, which is after the acute intoxication stage,” Hardy said. “There is a demand for a cannabis breathaliser around the world, but the technology’s just not there and I can’t personally see it being there for maybe at least 12 to 24 months – then they’re going to have to go through trials.”
Voting NO is the only safe vote.

A drug testing expert has raised concerns about the accuracy of the equipment needed to conduct roadside drug testing, as the Government considers a law giving police new powers to crack down on impaired drivers.

NZ Herald 8 September 2020
A legal cannabis market for recreational use could generate $675 million a year for the Government to spend on reducing cannabis-related harm, new economic modelling shows.

Two reports by Business and Economic Research Ltd (Berl) also say that legalisation would see an initial spike in cannabis use, accompanied by more cannabis-related hospitalisations.

But this would recede in the longer term and, with excise tax revenue put towards effective health interventions, cannabis users would have improved health outcomes while the justice system would save $11.4 million a year.

Berl’s modelling was done for the Ministry of Justice in the lead-up to next month’s referendum on legalising cannabis for personal use.

It was going to be published after the referendum in case it might unduly influence voters, but it has been released today following Official Information Act requests.

Justice Minister Andrew Little has so far been coy about the value of any levy on legal cannabis products, which would be ring-fenced for health services such as therapy or addition treatment.

But Berl estimated the level of excise tax based on the current price of cannabis and three different levels of potency of THC – the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

It estimated the tax would net the Government $640 million per year.

Adding the revenue from licensing fees minus the cost of administering the scheme, Berl says there would be $675m a year that could be used for health services.
READ MORE: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12363248

Legalised cannabis would create thousands of jobs, earn around $1 billion per year in taxes – report
TVNZ One News 9 September 2020
If cannabis is legalised after this year’s referendum, it could see up to 5000 new jobs created in the sector and bring in more than $1 billion in taxes, according to two newly released reports.

Radio NZ News 8 September 2020
Our additional comment: Still wanna legalise?
We haven’t even got the safety net in place.
And families will he the victim.
Vote No. It’s the only safe vote.

The legislation has passed its first reading and is before select committee and will let the police do random roadside drug testing “without any good cause” – similar to drink-driving checkpoints.

It will cover commonly-used drugs such as cannabis, methamphetamine, MDMA, opiates and downers.

Lawyer Marie Taylor-Cyphers said she was disturbed by elements of the legislation and the National Party has labelled it “botched” and “half baked”.

Taylor-Cyphers said the test was incredibly coercive and often wrong.

“Most of New Zealand would expect to be able to go out on the road and not be invasively searched inside their body.

“You can’t have a test that takes 40 minutes and fails one in 20 times, that is just not sufficient for us to have evidence that might lead to criminal convictions.”

Taylor-Cyphers said getting a positive test potentially opens people up to drug prosecutions.

“That to me seems extraordinary because usually the police would have to have good cause and of course after you’ve returned those positive tests they will have good cause.

“That alters rights quite drastically.”

A report by Attorney-General David Parker says the legislation contravenes the Bill of Rights: not to be subject to unreasonable search and seizure; to be arbitrarily detained; and to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The report also raises serious concerns that parts of the legislation are too vague.
READ MORE: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/425502/attorney-general-s-report-says-proposed-drug-driving-laws-will-contravene-bill-of-rights

Former Denver mayor Webb states reflects that he wishes his state could undo marijuana legalization.

NewsHub 8 September 2020
A new report from a group opposed to cannabis legalisation shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand, a health researcher says.

But its conclusions are based on data pulled from countries with very different legal cannabis regimes than what New Zealand is proposing, according to Chris Wilkins, an associate professor at Massey University.

The report, Lessons from Cannabis Legalisation 2020, looks at what’s happened in the US, Uruguay and Canada, three countries who’ve led the way. It was released this week by Smart Approaches to Marijuana NZ (SAM), which includes the likes of Family First’s Bob McCoskrie.

SAM is opposed to legalising recreational use of the drug, which studies show most Kiwis will try at least once in their lifetimes.

“This report, which has almost 250 references, will serve as an eye-opener for the New Zealand public and gives very persuasive evidence for voting no in the referendum,” said SAM spokesperson Aaron Ironside.

“The legalisation of marijuana has had significant costs both fiscally and in terms of social and health harms. It is clearly evident that cannabis legalisation is a failed policy.”

SAM claims in countries which have legalised cannabis there have been increases in youth use and car crashes, tax revenue has failed to cover increased health costs, and black markets have continued to thrive.

“This report moves past the spin from cannabis industry proponents who want to normalise and profit from drug use in our communities,” said Ironside.
READ MORE: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/09/anti-cannabis-report-provides-realism-as-well-as-scaremongering-expert.html

Stuff co.nz 7 September 2020
Our additional comment: Whoops!! – this messes up another argument for legalisation from Chloe, Helen and the Drug Foundation….
“The reality of policing the drug world is that police do not actively target end users of drugs, they target the manufacturers and dealers, those who are the main contributors to the harm. This applies especially in the gang-world driven methamphetamine scene, and for MDMA, where MDMA mimics and synthetics have caused deaths in New Zealand and overseas.. Anyone in prison for possession of cannabis or utensils, will be there for  other more serious charges as well, involving offences such as dealing, manufacture, possession of firearms etc. The commentary that people end up in prison for smoking cannabis is misleading, they do not. It is only the dealers.

OPINION: I am a former member of a police drug squad, in one of New Zealand’s major cities. I will be voting against legalising cannabis.

I agree that for the end users of drugs, where the use of that drug begins to affect a person’s health or mental wellbeing, medical or other intervention is very important, rather than putting that person before the courts.

But the reality of policing the drug world is that police do not actively target end users of drugs, they target the manufacturers and dealers, those who are the main contributors to the harm. This applies especially in the gang-world driven methamphetamine scene, and for MDMA, where MDMA mimics and synthetics have caused deaths in New Zealand and overseas.

Methamphetamine is well known to cause massive social harm, and with MDMA and mimics, the main problem and danger there is that the end user never knows what is actually in the drug. They have to trust the drug dealer, and who would trust one of them?

As far as cannabis is concerned, again, police do not target end users, and despite the social media commentary, I do not know of any end user of cannabis who has ever been imprisoned for simply smoking a joint. That simply does not happen.

Anyone in prison for possession of cannabis or utensils, will be there for  other more serious charges as well, involving offences such as dealing, manufacture, possession of firearms etc. The commentary that people end up in prison for smoking cannabis is misleading, they do not.

It is only the dealers.

The proposed legal purchase of 14 grams of cannabis per day per day is 10-plus joints. Who smokes that much? I’ve only ever encountered a very few, and they were basically permanently stoned.  It is way too much and a major step from decriminalising the possession of a simple joint.
READ MORE: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/cannabis-referendum/122683839/i-used-to-be-on-the-police-drug-squad-heres-why-im-voting-against-legalising-cannabis

Author, consultant, advisor to three U.S. presidential administrations, and assistant professor, Kevin Sabet, Ph.D., has studied, researched, written about, and implemented drug policy for more than 20 years. He is currently the President and CEO of SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana), a non-profit organization he founded with Congressman Patrick Kennedy and David Frum. His book, Reefer Sanity: Seven Great Myths About Marijuana, was published by Beaufort (Midpoint) in 2013, and was released in its second edition at the end of 2017. He is also the co-editor of Marijuana and Contemporary Health, published by Oxford University Press, and an assistant adjunct professor at Yale University and an institute director at the University of Florida.

His work as a government advisor began in the Clinton Administration as a researcher, and he was the senior speechwriter on drug policy in the Bush Administration (2002-2003). He returned to government in 2009, where he was asked to assist in drafting President Obama’s National Drug Control Strategy as a senior advisor. In 2011, he stepped down after being the only drug policy staffer to have served as a political appointee in a Democrat and Republican administration.

He talks to Say Nope To Dope spokesperson Aaron Ironside about the effects of legalisation of marijuana in the US, and why he’s encouraging New Zealanders to vote NO in the upcoming referendum.

www.SayNopeToDope.nz

“The idea that legalising / commercialising cannabis is going to deal with those systemic injustices and inequalities in our nation is naive at best if not outright appropriating issues of systemic injustice for personal gain and personal profit.” – Will Jones III

Will Jones is a Communications and Outreach Associate at Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) a nonpartisan nonprofit that works with local, state, and federal legislators to promote science-based policies that reduce marijuana use and arrests and their consequences.

He talks to Say Nope To Dope spokesperson Aaron Ironside about the effects of legalisation of marijuana in the US, and why he’s encouraging New Zealanders to vote NO in the upcoming referendum.

www.SayNopeToDope.nz

Professor Mary Cannon is a Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Youth Mental Health in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI).

From her research, which includes involvement in the Dunedin longitudinal study, Professor Cannon warns that cannabis is strongly associated with psychotic symptoms and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. In fact, cannabis use is now the most powerful single environmental risk factor for psychotic disorder.

Recent studies from Europe have examined the risks associated with high-potency cannabis (defined as greater than 10 per cent THC) and have found that daily users of high potency cannabis have a nine-fold increased risk of developing schizophrenia or another clinical psychotic disorder. But this “psychotogenic” effect is not confined to adolescent-onset cannabis use and appears more linked to frequency of use. In addition, it is not confined to people with a history of psychotic disorder in their family (although they are at high risk and should avoid cannabis). It has been estimated that between one third to half of all the cases of psychotic illness in places like London or Amsterdam could be due to cannabis.

The failure of governments worldwide to control alcohol harms shows that once an addictive substance is legalised and freely available public health takes a second place to profit.

She talks to Say Nope To Dope spokesperson Aaron Ironside about the effects of legalisation of marijuana in the US, and why he’s encouraging New Zealanders to vote NO in the upcoming referendum.

www.SayNopeToDope.nz